“And who is this
again?”
“It’s
Dan,” said Walter’s wife, a distant voice next to the phone.
“Dad,
so I was saying,” said Dan, “our two weeks on Sleeping Buffalo Mountain were
fantastic. We’ve gotta go back.”
“What
about Margaret; did she like it there too?”
“Now
Dad, you remember that it was just you and me. Mom and Bonnie didn’t want to
rough it. You know it was below freezing most of the time we were there.”
“That’
cold, that’s cold. How did we stay warm?”
“Dad,
the Banff Springs Hotel has everything we could ask for. We spared no expense.”
“Banff,
that’s the Canadian Rockies you know,” interjected his father.
“That’s
right! So, we had a suite of rooms right near the falls. The views were
spectacular. But the best part were the hot springs.”
“We
went swimming?”
“The
Radium Hot Springs were wonderful. The water was 100 degrees. We soaked in
sulphate, calcium, bicarbonate, silica, and magnesium.”
“Sounds
like a tonic grandma used to get at the druggist. Had to hold our noses to get
it down.”
“More
like a gin and tonic they served you pool side.”
“Hot
springs you say? President Delano Roosevelt used to take the waters for his
health back in the day. Did him good too.”
“And
you said it made your arthritis feel better, right Dad?”
“Well,
good thing your memory’s a lot better than mine. Kinda forgot that part about
floatin around in a spring.”
“I
was just telling that story about how the hotel is haunted to some neighbors
across the road.”
“Yeah,
well remind me of it again so I can tell your mother. She’s a bit forgetful.”
A
soft chuckle could be heard in the background in Dan’s ear.
“The
story goes that the hotel is haunted by a bride. She was climbing the grand
staircase lined with candles. Her gown caught fire and she fell down the stairs
trying to put out the flames.”
“Poor
young thing. Did we see her?”
“No,
but plenty of people claim to see her around the hotel in her beautiful wedding
gown or dancing in the ballroom.”
“Doesn’t
sound like a good place to get married now does it?” asked his father.
“And
remember the four days on the Rocky Mountaineer? There were times I couldn’t
fathom how that train didn’t go spiraling into space down a mountain side, we
were that close to the edge of nothing. Kicking Horse Canyon takes your breath
away though, gotta say.”
“That’s
right.”
“And
then Craigellachie, Kamloops and the Fraser River. They get the best salmon
from there Dad, don’t they?”
“Mmm,
salmon, one of my favorites. Margaret, what’s for dinner tonight?”
“And
then down to Vancouver to catch a plane back home.”
“Too
bad the girls didn’t come with us. Did they like their souvenirs? We did get em
something didn’t we?”
“Sure
we did Dad. They loved their Kabir Kouba moccasins with the bead work and fur
around the top from the Banff Indian Trading Post. And our moose hide moccs are
in the mail. We had to special order them.”
“That’s
alright then. We sure did have a grand time.”
‘Yes
we did Dad. I sure enjoy our trips we go off on together. Well, call you soon;
give Mom my love.”
“Sure
will, son, sure will. Bye.”
Dan
ended the call and turned from his laptop when his wife entered the room.
“Did
your Dad enjoy the trip?”
“He
always does,” said Dan with a smile.
“Where
you going next month?” she asked.
Dan
deleted the Banff TripAdvisor website extolling 99 reasons to visit Banff. He
typed in a new location.
“Next
month we’re going to Italy.”
(620 words)
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